This Week's Top Amazon Seller News

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This week’s briefing dives into Amazon’s growing AI tensions, new return policies, fulfillment speed upgrades, and critical platform changes that could shape Q4 strategy.
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News

​Amazon Sues Perplexity As AI Browser War Escalates​

Amazon has filed a lawsuit against AI startup Perplexity, accusing its Comet browser of illegally accessing customer accounts and making purchases on Amazon without permission. The company claims Perplexity’s “agentic” shopping tool violates its terms of service and undermines the shopping experience by bypassing Amazon’s site and ads.

Perplexity fired back, calling Amazon’s actions anti-competitive and insisting its AI enhances convenience, not harm. For Amazon sellers, this battle underscores how AI-driven “agent browsers” could disrupt how customers shop, compare, and complete purchases—posing both risks and new opportunities for visibility and sales channels.

​Amazon to Report China-Based Sellers’ Data to Tax Bureau​

Amazon will begin reporting detailed financial and identity data for all China-based sellers—including revenue, transactions, and fees—to China’s tax authorities, starting with Q3 2025 filings due October 31. The move follows new regulations requiring both domestic and international e-commerce platforms to share tax-related information about Chinese sellers.

This reporting applies even to Chinese sellers who only operate on non-China Amazon marketplaces like the U.S. or U.K. For global Amazon sellers, this highlights tightening cross-border tax compliance rules and signals that governments are increasing data-sharing to track international e-commerce revenue.

​Amazon CEO Expects to ‘Find Ways’ to Partner With Third-Party AI Shopp​ing Agents​

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company expects to eventually collaborate with third-party AI shopping agents, even as it currently blocks many from scraping Amazon’s site. He compared the rise of AI agents to the early days of search engines, acknowledging that they could significantly reshape how consumers discover and buy products online.

While Amazon continues developing its own AI tools like Rufus and “Buy for Me,” Jassy’s comments mark the first signal that Amazon is open to partnerships with external AI commerce platforms such as ChatGPT or Perplexity. For Amazon sellers, this suggests that future product discovery and sales could increasingly flow through AI-driven intermediaries—making optimized data, accurate pricing, and strong product listings more critical than ever.

​A​I to the Rescue: Amazon’s Rufus Chatbot Promises to Drive $10B in Sales​

Amazon’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, has reached 250 million users since launch and is projected to generate an additional $10 billion in annual sales. The chatbot helps shoppers discover, compare, and buy products directly within Amazon’s app and site—boosting purchase completion rates by 60% compared to non-users.

For Amazon sellers, Rufus represents a major shift in how customers find and engage with products, making optimized listings, clear descriptions, and strong reviews more critical than ever. As Amazon doubles down on AI-driven shopping, sellers who align with Rufus’s data and recommendation patterns will likely gain visibility and conversion advantages.

​Amazon Doorstep Returns Launch as Sellers Battle Rising Costs​

Amazon has launched “Doorstep Returns,” allowing customers to schedule USPS pickups directly from their homes—further cementing convenience as the new e-commerce standard. While the move enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty, it also increases pressure on third-party sellers already facing record-high return costs, averaging 30% of an item’s value.

Return abuse, including fraudulent and “wardrobing” behavior, continues to erode profits and trust, while Amazon’s returnless refund and extended holiday return window (through January 15) strain seller cash flow even further. For Amazon sellers, mastering return-rate management, using in-package support inserts, and strengthening post-purchase communication are now essential to surviving in an increasingly convenience-driven but costly marketplace.

​Amazon Announces New SP-API Fee Structure for Third-Party Devel​opers​

Starting January 31, 2026, Amazon will introduce a $1,400 annual subscription fee for third-party developers using the Selling Partner API (SP-API), along with tiered monthly usage fees beginning April 30, 2026. The new model includes a free Basic tier allowing up to 2.5 million GET calls per month, while higher tiers—Pro, Plus, and Enterprise—support larger-scale operations with added support and account management options.

For Amazon sellers, these changes primarily affect third-party tools and software providers that connect to Seller Central via SP-API. Developers may pass some of these new costs along to users, meaning sellers could see higher fees for analytics, automation, and listing management tools starting in 2026.

​Amazon: Better Inventory Placement Fuels Record Delivery Speeds​

Amazon is on track to achieve its fastest Prime delivery speeds ever in 2025, driven by improved inventory placement and a nearly four-day reduction in U.S. inbound lead times. By positioning products closer to customers, Amazon has expanded same-day and next-day delivery access to rural areas and introduced three-hour delivery in select cities.

For Amazon sellers, this means faster fulfillment and better customer experiences—but also higher expectations for inventory accuracy and FBA readiness. Sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) can benefit from these efficiencies, though rising fulfillment costs underscore the importance of tight inventory management and SKU-level profitability.

​Ecommerce Trends: 5 Things Holiday Shopping Forecasts Show So Far​

Forecasts from Adobe, Deloitte, and Salesforce predict strong 2025 holiday e-commerce growth, with online sales expected to rise up to 9% and mobile accounting for over half of all purchases. “Buy Now, Pay Later” usage is projected to hit $20.2 billion, signaling shoppers’ continued sensitivity to price and household budgets.

AI will play a major role this season, with tools driving up to $263 billion in global online sales and helping retailers personalize offers and improve conversion. For Amazon sellers, early discounts, mobile optimization, and AI-driven product targeting will be essential to capture the surge in demand while competing with aggressive marketplace promotions and growing resale trends.

​Etsy Sales Decline, Revenue Grows, New CEO N​amed​

Etsy’s Q3 2025 report shows marketplace sales down 2.4% year-over-year, but revenue up 6.1%, driven by increased ad fees charged to sellers. Active sellers dropped nearly 11%, and active buyers fell 5%, though Etsy noted modest sequential growth and higher ad performance across Etsy and Depop.

Josh Silverman will step down as CEO at the end of 2025, with Kruti Patel Goyal—currently President and Chief Growth Officer—taking over in January 2026. For Amazon sellers, Etsy’s revenue strategy highlights a growing platform trend: marketplaces boosting profits through higher seller fees and advertising costs even when overall sales stagnate.

​Amazon Fined $10,000 in Case That Redefines ‘Delivery’ in British Colu​mbia​

Consumer Protection B.C. fined Amazon $10,000 after ruling that a package left on a porch or handed to someone other than the buyer does not constitute a legal delivery. The decision states companies must ensure goods are delivered directly to the purchaser, even if their terms and conditions say otherwise.

For Amazon sellers, this sets an important precedent—platforms and fulfillment providers may be held legally responsible for lost or stolen packages after “porch delivery.” This ruling could pressure Amazon to tighten its delivery verification process, potentially impacting FBA policies and refund procedures for sellers operating in Canada.

Seller Tips & Tricks

​Facing Amazon PPC ACoS Too High? How to Lower Amazon AC​oS​

This guide breaks down practical strategies for reducing Amazon ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales), the key metric showing how efficiently your ad spend converts into sales. It explains how to calculate and benchmark ACoS, find your break-even point, and optimize listings, bids, and keywords to improve profitability.

For Amazon sellers, the article highlights the importance of refining ad targeting, using automation and AI tools, and improving product content to boost conversion rates. It also notes that temporarily accepting a higher ACoS can be strategic during product launches or peak seasons to gain visibility and long-term growth.

​Drive Product Discoverability with A+ Shoppable Collectio​ns​

Amazon has introduced A+ Shoppable Collections, allowing brand-registered sellers to create interactive product carousels within the “From the Brand” section of listings. These carousels can feature best sellers, highly rated items, or seasonal products, along with shoppable photos and videos to drive cross-selling and engagement.

For Amazon sellers, this update provides a new way to increase visibility and sales by showcasing multiple ASINs directly on a product page. It replaces the Brand Story module and gives shoppers a more interactive path to explore a brand’s full catalog.

Video of the Week

​Amazon Sellers Expose the Pay-to-Play Reality — Why Ads Alone Won’t D​rive Sales​

Strong Opinions

​The Modern Tech Worker Is Obsolete — Amazon’s CEO Just Told​ Us Why​

After Amazon announced up to 30,000 more layoffs, CEO Andy Jassy said the cuts weren’t financially or AI-driven, but rather about “culture.” The article argues that this signals a major shift — where even profitable tech giants like Amazon are normalizing mass layoffs as a cultural strategy rather than a necessity.

For Amazon sellers, this highlights how the company is prioritizing agility and efficiency over workforce stability — a mindset that could influence seller support, automation, and the broader Amazon ecosystem. As Amazon moves toward running like “the world’s largest startup,” sellers may see faster innovation but less personal human oversight across operations.

​I Have Concluded That This eCommerce Company Is Winning the Internet (and It Isn’t A​mazon)​

While Amazon dominates global eCommerce, Shopify has quietly built a massive presence by empowering small businesses to sell directly to consumers under their own brands. Unlike Amazon’s marketplace, which hides sellers behind its platform, Shopify’s model gives entrepreneurs full control over their storefronts and branding — now powering 12% of all U.S. eCommerce.

For Amazon sellers, this trend underscores a growing shift toward direct-to-consumer independence as more small brands look to reduce fees and control their customer relationships. The competition also signals increasing fragmentation in online retail, as sellers diversify beyond Amazon to strengthen brand identity and margins.

​The Dark Side of Amazon Free Returns: How Fraudsters Exploit Retail​ers​

Amazon’s free-returns convenience boosts buyer confidence but has become a playground for fraud — empty-box scams, switcheroos, returnless refunds and coordinated abuse are draining seller inventory and margins.
The fallout isn’t just refunds: sellers absorb shipping and restocking costs, suffer lost sellable stock, slower cashflow, and sometimes account flags or suppressed ASINs when return rates spike.

To fight back, track return patterns by ASIN and buyer, photograph products before shipment, use tamper-evident packaging and serial numbers, submit timely SAFE-T claims, and report serial abusers to Amazon.
Ultimately, sellers should tighten documentation, balance return policies for high-risk SKUs, and press for better Amazon inspection and reimbursement practices while using analytics and fraud-detection tools to protect margins.

​RIP Virtual Bundles: What Amazon Sellers Need to Kno​w​

Amazon expert Jon Eld​er announced that Virtual Bundles are effectively dead — now buried under a “Bundles with this item” tab that few shoppers will ever see. The change eliminates one of sellers’ easiest ways to increase average order value and cross-sell related items.

Elder advises sellers to pivot quickly by creating physical bundles listed as variations on existing ASINs and promoting them in A+ Content to retain visibility. He warns that if your AOV drops this month, this hidden update from Amazon is likely the reason.
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That’s it for this week — stay focused, stay flexible, and stay ahead of marketplace shifts.

God Bless,

Todd Welch
Amazon Seller School

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